FNRI promotes use of coconut flour

The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) is promoting the use of coconut flour as an ingredient in functional foods to help prevent hypercholesterolemia (very high levels of cholesterol in the blood) among Filipinos.

FNRI Director Mario Capanzana said coconut flour, a product from coconut residue locally known as sapal, contains 60 percent of total dietary fiber.

The food products with coconut flour developed by the FNRI include pan de sal and cookies.

A separate FNRI study also found that a mixture of 15 to 25 percent of coconut flour to corn cereals reduces about six to 10 percent of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), a bad cholesterol.

“The use of coconut flour in the formulation of different food products will provide consumers with alternative sources of dietary fiber and will also benefit the coconut industry,” Capanzana said.

“The products are similar to their regular counterparts but are made special by the addition of coconut flour,” Capanzana said. “For example, a 100-gram pan de sal with coconut four contains about 6.6 grams dietary fiber and provides 303 kilocalories of energy.”

Functional foods are foods or dietary components that may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition.

Capanzana said low dietary fiber is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

He said fiber-rich foods, such as coconut flour, promote a healthy heart, aid in the proper management of weight, control diabetes and prevent the risk of certain cancer.

A study done in the United States in the early 1990s showed that hypercholesterolemia was high among Filipino males, 29.8 percent.